


Tired Souls

by Oblivion_Wanderer



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, the day in the life of a Ghost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-07 03:32:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14662431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oblivion_Wanderer/pseuds/Oblivion_Wanderer
Summary: A Ghost's busy day(aka Ghosts get tired too sometimes)





	Tired Souls

The life of a Guardian was a life of combating the Darkness in whatever form it decided to present itself as on any given day. There were days where this constant kept them busy and kept their Ghosts busy as well.

Today was one of those days for the Guardian named Nelan, and her Ghost, Ivo.

Ivo had woken his Guardian; calling her title and nudging her shoulder repeatedly until her ice blue eyes opened. A moment passed of Nelan blankly staring at Ivo, her mind probably coming out of sleep, and then she smiled at him softly and greeted him with a sleepy “Good morning, Ghost.”

“Good morning, Guardian.”

That was how they usually said “good morning” to each other, even though they usually referred to each other by their own names. It was just something they were used to and it didn’t feel any different. In fact, it felt just as right. She was his Guardian, and he was her Ghost; two halves of a whole.

“So… Not to make you rush to get out of bed, but you’ve been asked for patrol this morning.”

Nelan rubbed at her eyes, then moved to sit up in bed. “Yeah… Yeah, I’m up. Tell them I’ll go. Let me splash some water on my face and get dressed first.”

She shook her head and ran her hands through her hair. Nelan had a rather… unique hairstyle. Her plum colored (and fluffy looking) hair was always combed over to one side, but always in odd way. When he had first met her- revived her- he wondered if it was an Awoken thing. Ivo liked it though; it was her.

Nelan got out of bed and took her armor out from her wardrobe. Ivo looked away as she changed from her bed clothes, mostly out of modesty. She never minded, but he was just being polite. A few moments later, there was a tap on his shell, indicating he could turn back around. She stood there, smiling at him and wearing a tanktop and her Lucky Pants (it was still a silly name for a piece of armor). 

“Where are we going paroling?” She asks, putting on her chest armor and then her grips next.

“Luna today.” He replied.

“Practically next door.” She commented. She wasn’t wrong; the ships Guardians used were all fitted with warp drives, which made traveling to other places off world much easier. The Moon of Earth was a short trip using the warp drive; usually only a half hour at most.

“Don’t forget you have a supply run in Russia today, and then we’re heading over to Venus.”

“Busy day then.”

“Yup.” 

“Best get on it.” She reached back in her wardrobe and grabbed her cloak; black with a red Hunter’s symbol printed on it. She put it on and settled it over her shoulders. 

Nelan had been a very shy Guardian when he first resurrected her; she’d thrown a rock at him in fright and she didn’t speak a word to him until they found the jumpship they used to get back to the City. She had come out of her shell a bit since then, though she was still quiet and introverted at heart. She was a good, kind Guardian who smiled a lot, who always meant well. Ivo was proud to be her Ghost.

The sun wasn’t too high in the sky when they left, indicating it was still morning, though that would hardly matter once they let the atmosphere. In a place like Luna, all you were surrounded by was the dark void of space, and the only light source was the sun. It did create some nice views of Earth though.

Luna, the Moon, was a place known for being overrun with Hive, a dark entity that had claimed the Moon after the Collapse. Despite that though, Fallen had seemed to establish a foothold as well. It wasn’t really a surprise; they were known as scavengers. That was probably why the patrols were still needed, even after the defeat of Crota; to keep the Hive and Fallen in check.

The patrol started out well; nothing much going on in the areas they visited. Patrols were often boring and quiet, routine of course, and Ivo and Nelan would often talk among themselves about various things. There were times, however where patrols could take a turn for the more troublesome.

Such was the case when a troop of Fallen ambushed Nelan at Archer’s Line on the way to Hellmouth.

Ivo wasn’t too worried; she was a good fighter and he’d be able to revive her if something happened. She fought off most of them, but when a Dreg got too close and seriously injured her, a second before she pushed them away and fired her sidearm, Ivo couldn’t help but to worry. Any time she got hurt he would be concerned, especially when he could feel echoes of her pain (courtesy of that neural symbiosis they shared). He went to work of healing her as quickly as he could and keeping her stable as she finished the rest off, but that didn’t stop a Vandal from sniping her.

It still kind of disturbed him that he could tell when her heart would stop beating- “I can’t imagine the pain you go through” he said to her once. He pulled her back from the dark all the same. Luckily, the Vandal that had gotten her was up on a perch, meaning he could revive her by the time it came down.

When she finally came back around, the Vandal had dared come near and was poking her with its weapon to make sure she was dead. She wasn’t, obviously.

_ ‘Oh, don’t do that.’ _ Ivo silently remarked.  _ ‘She won’t like waking up to you poking her.’ _

Nelan proved his words right a moment later when she took notice of the Vandal and knifed it.

“Careful; take it easy.” He urged as she shakily stood again. She always needed a moment to get her bearings after each death. “I could have told them that wasn’t going to work.”

Though she wore her helmet, Ghost could imagine she was smiling behind it.

They finished the patrol without further incident and then headed back to Earth, setting course for Old Russia.

There was always some nostalgia that came with each visit to Old Russia, especially for Ivo. He’d found her here, just outside the wall of the Cosmodrome; near the highway and near that small crashed ship where the name she used now came from. It wasn’t merely the site of Nelan’s resurrection though, it was the site of their meeting; of the day they officially became partners. It was when he knew his search was over and he wouldn’t feel that aching sense of loneliness he’d felt over the centuries of looking for her. He’d always remember that day well.

The supply run went smoothly enough; gathering materials from their surroundings as well as from their enemies. There was fighting enemies as well, but nothing too serious. Ivo was able to transmat the supplies away once they were gathered, meanwhile Nelan kept all the enemies away. The transmat didn’t take very long, but Ivo worked as quickly as he could. His concern was the enemy trying to overwhelm them, but everything worked out in the end.

Once the supplies were away, they took off on Nelan’s Sparrow until they were far enough away to rest.

“They sure put up a fight, huh?” Ivo said after Nelan had asked him to call in the ship.

“Yeah, but we got the job done.” She replied. “To Venus now?”

“Yes. There’s been a recent increase in Vex activity and the Vangaurd wants us to see if there’s anything out of the ordinary going on.”

“Knowing the Vex- and we know very little- it could be anything.”

Ivo dipped his shell downward in the approximation of a nod, agreeing with her. Vex were probably the most mysterious of all the enemies they faced in this age. Most of the first reports on Vex referenced the three days it took for them to terraform Mercury. Personally, Ivo disliked the Vex the most, even after the Taken War and the Devil Splicers. They annoyed and confused him. He still remembered that one time he’d tried to figure out Vex physics and ended up shorting himself out. He’d given Nelan a scare when that happened, which he still felt guilty about, but she took care of him after.

Once they left Old Russia, they stopped at the Tower to refuel and then they headed off to Venus. The jump to Venus was a bit longer because of the distance, but it wasn’t much of a bother. There were further places they’d traveled to; the Dreadnought out in the rings of Saturn for example. Ivo recalled after the final time they had been there, Nelan had been so exhausted she slept the entire way back. He’d set the ship on autopilot and settled down with her to keep her company.

Those days of war were behind them, and now they could focus on whatever lie ahead.

Now onto Venus…

Venus was a sight to behold; transformed into a jungle when the Traveler arrived, invaded upon by the Vex post-Collapse. The former Ishtar Collective had long since gone silent, lost in the Collapse, and now the Vex’s Citadel towered high.

“Are you ready, Guardian?” Ivo asked when they touched down in the Ishtar Sink region. 

“Whenever you are, Ghost.” She replied.

From the Academy where they landed, they headed toward the Waking Ruins. Toward the ruins of the city the Vex weren’t seen as often, but once you got away from there, you got more into Vex territory; the Citadel, the Waking Ruins, and so forth. Vex had already previously terraformed Mercury form a garden world into a machine (before Nelan’s time), and had tired to do the same with Venus. They were stopped by the Traveler, but the Vex were still active.

Coming into the Waking Ruins, Ivo suggested they surveyed the area first to see what was going on with the local Vex groups. Ivo made sure to take notes on the Vex the observed and file them away for later. Nelan didn’t speak a word as she made her way around the ruins, preferring to keep quiet and out of sight as to not attract the attention of Vex. Ivo could tell though that she was just a bit tired, which is why she wasn’t talking as much, but he couldn’t blame her; she had gotten up early for that patrol, and both that and the supply run had kept her on her toes and running about, plus traveling to and from different planets/moons. He could feel it from her through their neural symbiosis, and Ivo himself was getting a bit worn out.

They did find that Vex activity was slightly increased, and come to find out it was due to a new construct in the Waking Ruins. Consulting past patterns, this wasn’t too unusual. The Cabal were still giving the Vex a rough time on Mars, and the Vex had been rerouting and reorganizing their information networks since the defeat of Atheon in the fabled Vault of Glass. Just as well, the Black Garden had been quieted as well. A combination like that- it must have managed to disorient their forces

But as Ikora once said, to the Vex, time is relative.

Each new construct that appeared though did have a tiny silver lining; it was an opportunity to gather data on the enemy. Vex were a mystery, barely anything was known about them, thus any and all information on the Vex was valuable.

“I can try to pull data from the construct.” Ivo suggested.

Nelan drew her sidearm all the same. “Alright, let’s give it a go.”

She approached the construct and called Ivo forth to scan it. He materialized and flew forward to begin the scan.

“Definitely new.” Ivo said of his initial findings. “It only just recently and fully formed. I’m not sure where it connects to, but I’ll see what I can get.”

Nelan stood patiently by as he worked, probably standing by as a lookout. Stuff like this was a risk; he was exposed. Anything could come by and just shoot him. Ivo wasn’t really worried though, because his Guardian was here. She had his back.

“Okay, I’ve opened a channel. Wait, there's something on the Citadel here; could be valuable. Hm… I think from here I can access the-”

“Look out!”

Ivo didn’t see what happened, but his sensors picked up the quick step of Nelan’s feet, followed by a pained cry. At the same time, his systems stuttered and an echo of her pain bloomed in him. She was hurt.

“Nelan!” He turned from the construct, the sound of a gunfire following, and saw that she had stepped in front of him. 

“Hobgobblin.” She choked out. She was hunched over slightly and clutching her shoulder. “Appeared out of nowhere… Was aiming for you.”

Ivo healed the wound, dulling her pain. Soon she was standing straight again, but he could tell she was on alert.

“I think we’ve got more incoming. They know we're here.”

He couldn’t agree more. Ivo returned to scanning the construct, trying to pull data a bit faster. As Nelan predicted, more Vex showed up- they didn't like others poking around their constructs. She was doing fine holding her own, but the sooner they finished this and left the better. 

“Stay behind me and finish the scan.” Nelan told him. “Try to get that data on the Citadel.”

Ivo was trying, but the construct was being difficult with him. Wanting to finish this before Vex decided to swarm them, Ivo began to attempt to force hack his way in to grab the data. The construct’s systems still fought him, but he managed to get the correct bypass frequency. There was a little shock with forcing his way in, but he ignored it. 

He found the data on the Citadel (along with other data on the Vex), pulled it, and disconnected from the system.

“Nelan, I got it!” He exclaimed, dematerializing. “Let's go!”

Nelan was still firing at the Vex, but she took the hint. She called upon her Golden Gun and fired it into the group of Vex to distract them. Once the round was empty, she bolted away from the construct. Now safely away, Ivo allowed himself to relax; he was getting seriously tired. The problem with doing a force hack was that it caused a strain to his systems.

By the time they got back to the ship, Ivo was exhausted. It didn't help ether that he sensed how worn Nelan was from today's events as well. Today had kept him and Nelan quite busy, but they were done for the day and could return home. Nelan sat down in the pilot’s seat and started up the engines. Ivo hovered by her shoulder, watching her hands move about the controls.

The trip back to Earth was mostly taken up with reviewing the data recovered and putting together a report. Talking with her kept him more focused.

“Quite a day, huh?” Ivo mused once they arrived back at the Tower and docked the ship. He still tried to sound cheerful.

“We've certainly been kept busy.” 

He made a little noise of acknowledgement but said nothing else. It had indeed been a long day; more exhausting than it proved. He wanted nothing more than to rest on his favorite pillow, but there were still reports to be filed and Nelan probably would want to go get something to eat- 

"-Ivo." 

The call of his Guardian startles him and makes his shell shudder as he turned to face her. "Sorry, I spaced out there. Who's hungry? Are you hungry?" 

Nelan now looks at him, concerned. She had never once said she could feel their bond of neural symbiosis as strongly as Ivo could, but when she looked at him like this, he thought maybe she could. 

She softly asks, “Are you alright? You sound a bit-” 

“I’m fine." 

"Come on. What's up?" 

Nelan, it's nothing. I'm just.... just..." Ivo’s words trailed off.  

He blinked, and next thing he knew Nelan’s hands were cupped around him and she had a worried look in her eyes. “Hey- whoa- take it easy.”

“Mm… Sorry.” He’d lost focus. His body was probably too tired to stay in levitation. “Long day; I must be more tired than I thought.”

A sympathetic smile came over her lips. “You always do so much to help me. You worked hard today; your systems must be stressed.”

“...I may have also forced hacked that construct on Venus.”

“Oh, Little Light.” She brought him up and kissed the top of his shell. Ivo grumbled something about the nickname, but he let her get away with it. Only Nelan could. “No wonder. Doing that always makes you ill.”

“You know I don't get sick like organics do.” He huffed. 

“I know, but i’ve seen how it effects you. You deserve a rest.”

“But, Nelan, we have reports to-”

“It can wait.”

Ivo didn't try to argue with her further; he didn't have the energy to. She was right, he needed to rest and recharge.

He let Nelan carry him from the hangar, through the plaza, and back to the apartment. When they entered the room she went over to her bed and set Ivo down on the small pillow he liked so much. She then shut the blinds and turned on her lights ('fairy lights' as they were called)

He wearily watched as she shed her armor and put it back her wardrobe, grabbing one of her longer t-shirts and putting it on. She lay down next to him on the bed and ran her fingers along one of the shell points.

“Sleep, Ivo.” Nelan whispered, a gentle smile on her face. 

“Mmhm…”

He let his optic close and he fell into a rest cycle, but not before silently thanking his Guardian. He was lucky to have her.


End file.
